


The Grid

by bringbaekexo



Category: EXO (Band), Tron: Legacy (2010)
Genre: M/M, i have no creativity which is why this is written exactly like the movie, i love this movie why does no one ever write this au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-03-28 01:53:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13893747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bringbaekexo/pseuds/bringbaekexo
Summary: Chanyeol has always been a survivor.





	1. Legacy

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Many settings/scenes take place from the movie, and even some of the lines are the same. I basically wanted a rewrite of Tron: Legacy in book form, so it is supposed to be very similar to the movie. I dont own the characters, settings, or SOME of the scenes/lines used in this story. Any similarities between this story and the movie are purposeful.

_"Chanyeol, one day, I'm going to take you to my shop to show you what I've been working on. Would you like that?"_

_"Yeah, dad! You're so awesome! I wanna be just like you when I grow up!"_

_Junmyeon ruffles his son's hair affectionately and smiles wide. Just then, he gets a message on his pager. He gets up from his son's bed and sighs._

_"Sorry, kiddo. Work calls. Have a good sleep."_

_Chanyeol waves at his father as he walks out of the house. Junmyeon turns back one more time to smile and point up at Chamyeol's bookshelf. There, at the very top, sits a Tron figurine. He stares at it for a second, then turns back to see his father's car driving away. Chanyeol was only 9 then. He hasn't seen his father since._

\-----

A motorcycle speeds through the street and weaves in and out traffic effortlessly. The bike makes a sharp turn into an alley that leads to a bridge. It turns onto the dirt and heads down, turning into an opening under the bridge. For Chanyeol, this is home. Away from the men trying to control his father's company, away from the media, a place where he can be at peace and collect his thoughts. 

A black car that he recognizes immediately comes into view from his place on the couch. He gets up and grabs two beers from the fridge. Might as well accommodate to his guest. After all, peace only lasts so long anyway.

The familiar body steps out of the car dressed in a suit with sleek, polished shoes. Nothing about him has changed, not even his short cut, blonde hair. Chanyeol belives that Yixing is practical and was never the type of man to change anything about himself. That's what he likes about his father's former friend.

"Chanyeol, I can see you're doing...well these days."

Chanyeol catches on to what Yixing is trying to say before he even says it.

"Cut the bullshit, Yixing, just tell me what you have to say. I'm not really in the mood to listen to you lecture me again today."

Yixing chuckles. It's a soft sound, like the chiming of church bells in the distance. Suddenly, his expression hardens. Chanyeol sits up on the couch, stretching over to hand Yixing a beer.

"I got a page yesterday-"

"You still have a pager? Man, I sometimes forget how old-"

"It was from your father's office."

Somewhere far away, a sad hymn plays.

"So? How is this information useful to me?"

Yixing sets the beer down, takes a step back, then looks Chanyeol straight in his eyes.

"That number's been disconnected for 15 years."

Yixing turns away and then walks back to his car. It's impossible not to hear what he says next because there aren't any windows or doors here. 

"Maybe you'll finally find what you've been looking for all these years."

Just like his father all those years ago, Yixing gets in his car and drives away. Chanyeol watches him go, not feeling melancholy or jealously in the slightest. He knows Yixing is going home to his wife and children. Lucky bastard.

\-----

After pulling up in front of the building he hasn't seen in years, Chanyeol doesn't know what he should do. Maybe if he stares at it long enough, the building will disappear. It doesn't, and he's surprised that they haven't torn it down already. As he walks in, he dismissively waves away the thought that this place  _really_ needs some dusting done - maybe a paint job too - until he sees the game that's been in the back of his mind for years.

"Nice to see you're still the center of attention."

There, standing proudly in the back of the room without a tarp, sits the arcade game that made Chanyeol's father all of his success - Tron. Chuckling to himself quietly, Chanyeol dusts off the screen of the machine and kicks it. Somehow, the old contraption still manages to turn on. He slots a quarter inside of the machine and instead of the menu option going to characters he just hears it fall right through. Chanyeol looks down at the ground to search the floor for his coin and instead notices scrapes on the floor. This machine has been moved. Recently? He doesn't know, but he plans to find out. He bends down a little bit and slides the machine over with ease. Looks like his father was up to something more than making games.

He peers through the dark opening and only sees a set of stairs. Looks like he'll have to go down. Quietly huffing, he walks down the winding set of stairs. He's never particularly liked walking around in the dark or running into nasty old spider webs. (How do spiders get into locked up places anyway?) He's again broken out of his thoughts when he reaches the end of the stairs and sees a door. He opens it without hesitation and steps inside.

Chanyeol looks around the dark room curiously - no one's been here in years. Was Yixing mistaken? Did he just mistake the pager going off? No, that isn't possible. Although Yixing is the oldest person that he associates with, he's also the sharpest and most alert person he knows. He's starting to think that none of this makes any sense when he stumbles into a room with a giant keyboard and computer monitor inside of the desk. Almost like flat screen, he thinks, while dusting it off.

Suddenly, the computer screen starts flashing and one word pops up.  _Code?_ Blinking at the screen, Chanyeol racks his brain for anything that would come to mind as a password. He's knows this is self-centered of him, but he does it anyway. Reaching down to the keyboard, he types in his own name and presses enter. For a minute, Chanyeol thinks it's wrong because nothing happens. What he doesn't notice is the camera like object slowly lifting up behind him, scanning his body. By the time he turns around. It's too late. 

Chanyeol's body disappears, the camera goes back in its place, and the door that he opened to enter the room shuts. Above the secret room, the Tron game slowly shifts back into its place, like no one was ever there. The computer screen lists some data before shutting off. The screen reads:

_Name: Park Chanyeol_

_Relation: Son_

_Objective Landing: Random_

_Message(s): Welcome to the Grid, Chanyeol._


	2. Recognizer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New beginnings.

Chanyeol's body jerks violently and he holds onto the desk for dear life. He looks around the room, noticing it is no longer covered in dust. He hears a whirring noise from outside and he hops out of the chair, determined to get the hell out of the arcade. What Chanyeol sees next makes him believe he's dreaming.

First of all, his bike is gone, no longer leaning on the lamppost where he left it even though he couldn't have been gone for more than 30 minutes. Second off, the ground has lights inside of it, and the neighborhood is no longer trashed with, well, trash. Its like the world turned into some LED video game. 

_Wait._

"It can't be. This isn't real right now."

Before he has anymore time to think, the noise he heard earlier becomes more clear to hear. In the distance but coming closer, is a craft that Chanyeol has never seen before. It, like everything else in this place also has lights imbedded in it. When he turns to run away from the mysterious vehicle, he stops dead in his tracks because  _what the fuck the ground disappeared._ So, he does the only thing he can - besides hopping down into the dark abys that the floor got swallowed into - and turns around to look at the ship-like object landing in front of him. Two guards with glowing batons (and clothes along with helmets) step out of it.

Wrong move.

"Program has no disk. Take him in."

Before Chanyeol can attempt to run, the guards have caught both of his arms and appear to have no plans of letting him go. They tug him to an empty pod and shove him in like a ragdoll. Almost immediately, automatic locks come together and hold his arms and legs in place. There goes any chance of escape. He turns to his right and notices a man (his clothes light up too) whispering to himself, and he leans in to catch what he's saying.

"Not the games, not the games, not the games, not the games."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Chanyeol turns his head to the left to talk to a man with a hoodie and shrugs his head in the other direction saying, "What's wrong with that guy?" When the man turns to him, Chanyeol gapes in horror. His hoodie does not manage to obscure the right side of his face and as he turns, Chanyeol gets a view of what looks to be broken computer particles. "Keep your mouth shut if you want to live," says the man in a voice that reminds Chanyeol of Darth Vader. The scariest thing about this though, is that he's not watching a movie - more like playing a scene in some twisted strobe light wonderland.

He looks down at his feet to catch a glimpse of the ground through the see-through platform of the ship.

"He actually did it. I'm on the Grid."

\-----

When the ship lands, one of the guards goes by one-by-one looking at the prisoners, saying only one of two words to them when he looks at their faces.

"Rectify."

The man looks down, his face a mix of sadness and relief.

"Rectify"

This one closes his eyes, as if praying for his last moments to be peaceful.

"Games."

The chattering man's eyes widen, and he starts screaming. "No...please! Anything but the games!"

The guard walks over to the man with no face - rectify.

When he finally gets to Chanyeol, "Look I know you probably get this a lot but there's been a big mista-"

"Games."

Chanyeol, stares on is disbelief. How could they possibly mistake his as a program? What the hell are the games?

The guards grab the chattering man, but somehow he manages to break free of their grip, and he runs over to the edge of the landing platform before they can stop him. "Derez me!" are his last words before he hops over the edge and plunges to his death. Chanyeol can't see it, but he can literally  _hear_  him shattering into a million voxels, just like a glass plate. Chanyeol decides not to struggle as the guards but him on a platform and step back. Again, like the ship, restraints come up to hold his feet down as it descends.

When he lands at the bottom, he ends up in an empty room.

Or so he thought.

Four pods open in the walls around him as he stands there, bewildered. Exactly two people of each gender wearing light up suits step out. They walk in synchronization toward Chanyeol, and all stop, not even one foot away from him. "Can someone tell me what is goi-" The Sirens pay no heed to him, and proceed to cut his clothes away until he is in nothing but his underwear. "It's got a zipper, you know." The Sirens turn away from him and each walk toward a wall with proceeds to open and reveal armor-like plates. The shorter male Siren, Jongdae, turns to the other male, Jongin as he grabs the two sections needed for the plate. "He is different."

No more is said as the Sirens place the armor plates on him and it all connects together. Now he looks more like them, except he's in black, and they're dressed in all white. Jongin nods his head at one of the women Sirens and she turns and walks towards a stand holding a disk. Chanyeol is about to question its nature, when a voice comes out of the ceiling.

"Attention, Program, you will receive an identity disk. Everything you do, or learn, will be imprinted on this disk. If you lose your disk, or fail to follow commands, you will be subject to immediate deresolution."

Jongin again nods his head to another Siren who then securely places the disk onto his holder on his back. He then speaks. "Sequence complete, disk activated and synchronized, proceed to games."

Chanyeol lifts and eyebrow at Jongin as all of the Sirens step backwards into their pods. "Games?" The women and men fit their bodies into the pods and resume what looks like resting. Jongin still lingers, so Chanyeol asks, "What am I supposed to do?" The smile on Jongin's face doesn't waver.

"Survive."


	3. Derezzed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faded memories come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can I just say that like... this story is highkey hopeless.

Chanyeol's body jerks up as he gasps for air.

He looks around his surroundings noticing to be in what appears to be a bedroom. His thoughts go back to what happened after the Sirens dressed him. The Games.

_After the Shixun's disk cut Chanyeol's arm, he was pinned to the floor instantly. Thinking he was a goner, Chanyeol shut his eyes tightly while the Shixun pressed closer to him with his disks. But all in one moment he hears, "User," and is being pulled up from the platform forcefully and dragged away to a room that sits right above the floating arenas._

_"You know, these things don't grow back," Chanyeol growls as the two guards toss him into a room illuminated by orange lights. He squints angrily at the mute man behind him - the Shixun, he remembers faintly, watching as he stands off to the side. He turns his head to the front again and confusedly stares at the man in front of him with his back turned - he appears to be watching the games even though they have just been ceased._

_Chanyeol uses this moment to speak up. "Where am I? Am I on the grid? Who are you?", he says as the man turns his back and starts walking towards him. He has on a helmet over his head like that Shixun guy so his face isn't visible. Chanyeol gets the strange feeling that this guy is the one in control._

_The man stops walking and the helmet slides off and into his suit. It's been 15 years._

_"Dad..." says Chanyeol, almost awed into silence by the presence of his father. "Chanyeol. Look at you man. Look at the size of you." He walks forward and grabs the sides of Chanyeol's arms. "How'd you get in here?" He blinks and clears his throat for good measure. "I got your message."_ _"Oh... so it's just you?"_

_Now Chanyeol is confused. "...yeah." His father starts to walk around the room. "Just you...wow. Isn't this something?" he says, words not really sounding like a question, but more like an ominous warning. Chanyeol looks at his face closely, and makes an observation out loud. "You look the same." He turns and smiles. "Oh a lot's happened, Chanyeol, more than you can imagine - disk," he gestures to the Shixun, smile never once leaving his face._

_Immediately, Chanyeol's disk is in his hands. He watches as his father looks through a series of images - his memories, pop up in holographic form above the disk. "Got it," he shakes the disk around in his hands then tosses it back to the Shixun. "So... you were trapped in here." He starts pacing again. "That's right." Chanyeol feels more puzzled than he's ever been in his life. "And you're in charge." "All right again, Chanyeol."_

_He chuckles thinking of the question he's been waiting to ask for years. "So can we just go home now?"  "Not in the cars, not for you." Chanyeol's eyes widen as he shakes his head. "That's a hell of a way to treat your son."  He turns around for the umpteenth time and says, "Ah, about that. I'm not your father, Chanyeol, but I'm very glad to see you."_

_The guards then proceed to drag him out before he gets a chance to yell about his real dad and where he is._

That doesn't explain how he got here, though. Chanyeol doesn't remember how he got in this room, or anything that happened after he had that talk with... that imposter. 

So caught up in his thoughts, Chanyeol doesn't notice the door open and a lithe figure walk into the room. "Ah, you're awake now. Follow me, we have much to discuss." The small man doesn't bother to look back as he leaves the room in small, quick strides. Chanyeol hops off of the bed and proceeds through the door, jogging to make an effort to catch up to the mysterious man. 

The two stop on top of a wide platform that starts to ascend towards the next floor. "He's been waiting to see you for a very long time, you know," the man says pleasantly, as if he's known Chanyeol his whole life. "Yeah, well, that's not the first time I've heard that today," sighs Chanyeol wistfully as they step off the platform into a room almost completely white. "Wait here," the short man says before he walks through the room and outside onto a patio like area.

He approaches another man sitting down with his back turned, facing the skyline of the Grid. "Sir...he's here." The man gets up slowly and turns around to face Chanyeol. What's he sees doesn't surprise him, the Grid's taken a hell of a lot out of him today.

"Chanyeol," his father - his  _real_ father states as he stands there in awe. "Long time," Chanyeol smiles, even after all these years he can't give up his wit. "You have no idea." They stand quiet for a while, just basking in the comfortable silence, until the short man speaks his mind. "I'm sorry to ruin the moment sir, but I suggest we should explain this whole ordeal to him." 

"No, it's quite alright, thank you for the wise suggestion."  The man bows respectfully before walking past the older of the two Kims. He stops in front of Chanyeol for a solid three seconds, looks him up and down, then leaves the room. 

Junmyeon sighs before continuing. "So I'm guessing you met Suho. He has ruled the Grid for the past 15 years. He took over the day I disappeared, and I've been in hiding the whole time," he looks down, takes a deep breath, and keeps going. "I created Suho in my image. I had the idea that we would create the perfect world together. With Suho, I also created a protector, his name was Sehun. Sehun...he fought for me until the very end." 

"Okay, well that explains some things but...who is that man that lead me here?" 

Just then, the platform comes up again and the man steps off and walks towards Chanyeol. He puts his left hand on his hip and cocks his head to the side and says, "I'm Kyungsoo, and I didn't lead you here, sweetheart, I saved your sorry ass."


	4. End of Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyungsoo is different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why am I still awake :))))))

Kyungsoo is different.

Everyone Chanyeol has ever met has either shunned him or been scared of him. But Kyungsoo isn't afraid of him - seems intrigued by Chanyeol, even. 

He can see it in Kyungsoo's eyes. The want. The  _need._ It's pure and raw, no emotions hidden. The look in his eyes is a challenge, and Chanyeol has never been one to turn a challenge down. 

They stare at each other for a long while until Junmyeon breaks the silence. "Chanyeol, my boy, there is something important that you must know." He looks away from Kyungsoo and addresses his father. "What is it?" Junmyeon turns and walks over to the end of the room, where there is an open patio-like area. He points straight ahead where there is a vertical strip of white light that seems far off, but very visible. "When you came into the Grid, you opened a portal. For years, Suho has wanted my disk so he could leave the portal open so he could roam in and out, controlling the Grid and our world along with it. You would have to leave before the portal closes or you will never be able to go back to our world again, for the portal can't open on this side. There's about 8 hours left until it closes."

Chanyeol stares out at the horizon weighing his options. He could stay here for the rest of his life in this boring ass palace of white with his dad and a  _very_ sexy companion, or he could get out of this LED shithole and take his dad with him. He thinks the favorable option is obvious. "Okay then, let's go!" Junmyeon turns to his son and wistfully smiles at his naivety. "Son, I can't leave." "Why not?" "If I leave this world, my disk can not come with me. And if Suho gets his hands on my disk, chaos will reign in both worlds."

 "What in the hell is that supposed to mean?" 

"It  _means_ that if Suho gets the disk, Suho gets out. And if he gets out, we're all doomed. Plus, you don't think they wouldn't arrest your father in the real world for creating all of this mess? Get real. Think of what your  _government_ would do. There is _no_ way to leave, so stop worrying about him and maybe focus on yourself," Kyungsoo cuts in for the first time this conversation has started. 

"There just has to be  _some_ way to get you out of here." Kyungsoo blows his bangs out of his hair and looks toward Junmyeon. He has a stoic expression on his face, which means Kyungsoo has to answer again. 

"Do you think he hasn't  _tried_ that? There are  _no_ means of escape for Junmyeon. He's not stupid. He wouldn't sit here all these years and  _not_ try to escape."

Yes. Kyungsoo is different. He doesn't hate Chanyeol, but he isn't afraid to throw some snarkiness his way. Just whom  _is_ this man? What is he possibly doing working for his father?

"There can't be  _nothing_ I can do. I didn't come all this damn way just to run into a dead end. Trust me, I've been running for a long time, and I won't stop now because of some _ridiculous grid._ " 

For the first time in a few minutes, Junmyeon turns around and scans his son. "Chanyeol, you've grown so independent while I was gone. I know I missed a lot in your life, and I'm sorry for that, but there's no helping the inevitable. I'm sorry."

Chanyeol looks at his father for a long time, the disappointment evident in his features. "You were gone for fifteen years. I was helpless. Grandpa and grandma died shortly after you disappeared. I had no one but Yixing, and even then, he couldn't replace the void that was left in my heart. Not from you or mom. For you to stand here tell me that there's no hope after all that I've been through in the span of two hours is bullshit. I just wanna go _home_ dad."

He storms off, making his way to the lift on the floor. He descends without looking at Kyungsoo or his father. 

Kyungsoo laughs. "I never thought that the son of Kim would be so obnoxious." Junmyeon gives him a stern glare. "What? I'm serious! He's acting like you don't want to escape just as badly as he does. I'm not just going to let him say all those things like he knows everything. I have seen you deteriorate over all the cycles I've known you for. I get where he's coming from, but he needs to understand that reality is not always fun and easy."

Junmyeon cracks a weak smile. "Go talk to him then, if you feel that way."

Kyungsoo drags himself toward the lift begrudgingly. "Only for you Kim, only for you."

Once Kyungsoo reaches the downstairs area, he looks into the room they kept Chanyeol in earlier and spies him sitting on the bed.

Kyungsoo moves toward him swiftly and gets very close to Chanyeol's face. "If you really wanna know how to get out of here, you'll need connections. There's a club in the city that a friend of mine owns. His name is Chen, and he can help you get off of the Grid." 

Chanyeol looks taken aback at the sudden statement. "Why the change of heart?" Kyungsoo flips his bangs out of his face and cocks his hip, saying, "I've always wondered what a user looked like dead. And now, I can finally witness it, because your failure is inevitable." 

As he walks out of the room in a daze, Chanyeol wonders how he would be able to get to this city. He knows the walk would be futile, but there are no available devices here. He goes back up the platform and takes a few steps forward, looking to his right. Sitting there, right in the middle of the room, is the first light cycle ever created. 


	5. The Rinzler (mini chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Shixun remembers his past.

If there's one thing he can remember, it is the feeling of emptiness. 

The Shixun has never paid any mind to anything that was not his mission. He saw friendly interactions unnecessary, as well as speaking. Even if he wanted to speak, he was...forbidden to. It had never been stated to him directly, but he just had a feeling.

He lived solely to serve Suho and follow his each and every order. Nothing else mattered. Not until the  _user_ showed up. 

When he saw the user bleed, something had been triggered inside of him. Memories of some sort. This was strange, because everything he had ever known was already on his disk. But... this was familiar. He had seen this before. Fragments would come and go, short and quickly.

"-out of here before he catches you!"

"It's a trap!" 

"Junmyeon!"

Junmyeon. A far off memory that the Shixun could not piece together. Why had he coerced with the Creator? What would have made Shixun fight for him? This... _user._

All these thoughts and more ran through his head as he approached his leader's chambers. The orange hued doors slid open to reveal Suho sitting in his chair, watching the skyline of the Grid.  _His_ Grid.

Yes, that was right. It was  _Suho's_ Grid that he was made to protect. His thoughts should not be on some strange man whom he does not know, but instead on protecting his leader. The only one that matters. 

Suho suddenly stood from his chair and turned to face his guard. "Shixun. My dear old... _friend._ Do you believe that I have you brainwashed?"

The Shixun says nothing. 

"Why do I ask that, you might be thinking. Well, it has come to my attention that you have...regained consciousness. Is that right?" 

The Shixun again says nothing, and Suho slams his fist into his desk and yells, "Answer me!"

"...What do you mean by 'regained consciousness', leader?" 

"Oh please," Suho laughs, quite amused. The Shixun notes the quick attitude change. "You have some of your memories back don't you?"

"Yes sir. Although I am not sure that I would dub them as memories. I am positive I have never experienced any of these things."

Suho rounds his desk, slowly making his way towards the other man. He stands in front of the Shixun, then takes his helmet off of his head, placing it on the ground gently. The man's silver hair falls and frames his face, covering his eyes a little. Suho smiles mysteriously. 

"On the contrary my friend. You have experienced all of this, and more." He pushes the silver hair back so his guard's full face is now on display. 

"I'll restore all of your memories, Sehun."

The Shixun sucks in a harsh breath.


	6. Clu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chanyeol meets the allusive Chen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi updates will be very slow from now on

The music in the club is fast paced and exhilarating.

There is conversation buzzing all around. Suho's minions are crawling all over the place, but they don't seem to be aware of Chanyeol in the slightest. He doesn't have to worry - for now.

Chanyeol looks around skeptically, deciding that now is a good a time as any to ask around for a name. "Excuse me!" He yells to a bartender over the loud music and conversation. "Do you know where I can find Chen?" The man shakes his head, and Chanyeol sighs, sitting down. What he doesn't notice though, is the cat-like smile staring him down from across the room.

"You must pardon my rudeness but I'll have to speak with you later," the man says to a business partner of his. "Have a drink! It's on me!" 

While Chanyeol sits there, brooding, the man slinks over to the bar with an uncanny grace. He sits down next to Chanyeol and waves the bartender back over towards the two. "Why, my friend, I couldn't help but notice that you look a bit lonely. Would you care for a drink?"

The user looks at him carefully, and after a moment of silence he says, "No, but thanks. I'm looking for a man named Chen. You know him?" 

The mysterious man's eyes gleam with mischief. "You happen to be looking in the right place! I happen to be the only person who can grant you permission to see Chen. I'd be glad to help you!" Chanyeol sighs, about to thank the man when he says, "But! It _will_ cost you. Like everything in this world often does." "Alright then, how much will it be?"

Bright eyes twinkle at him mockingly. "Follow me. We should discuss business deals...elsewhere."

Moments later, Chanyeol finds himself in the upper deck of the club, looking down upon all of the programs that drink, laugh, and dance. "By the way, I didn't catch your name."  The man turns to face him, chuckling lightly as he does so, his silver hair reflecting brightly even in the low lights. "I am Chen, my dearest friend. But you can call me Jongdae, so is such my real name." Jongdae's smile falls from his face. "So, any reason why you, a user, has come lurking into my domain?" 

Chanyeol gasps, and stands up, alarmed that his identity was so easily found out. Had he been wrong to trust Kyungsoo? Was this the end of the line for him? Should he have never came here, even if that meant sacrificing the knowledge of his father's whereabouts? He is snapped out of his reverie when a hand is shoved into his face. "Hello? Aren't you going to answer my question, user?"

Chanyeol breathes in deeply, not seeing what else could go wrong from telling Jongdae what he needs from him. "I need safe passage to the portal." Jongdae laughs menacingly. "How much are you willing to give, my friend? For information such as this does not come easy."

"Look," says the user angrily. He stands up and grabs Jongdae's collar. "I don't have time for your petty games. Where the hell is the safest passage way toward the portal?" The club owner sighs, shakes off Chanyeol, and looks out the window, smiling to himself for some unknown reason. "Fine. Just behind here is where the trains run. If you can catch one leading east, then you can get to the Sea of Simulation. Just past there is the portal. The only catch is that just beyond the trains and right before the sea lies the military base to Suho's army." 

Before the two can say anything else, the faint sound of glass breaking is heard. "Ah," says Jongdae pleasantly, "You might want to get a move on. Something like this will surely slow your progress." 

Chanyeol looks over the banister to see none other than the Shixun and a bunch of Suho's other goons. "Damn it! How could they have known I was here?" Jongdae shrugs. "Although I hate to admit it, Suho is...resourceful. He sees almost everything, which is why I was so hesitant to give you the information. Oh well! Get to it, son of Kim." 

With that, Jongdae steps away from Chanyeol, smiling as he struts back to the couch as if nothing is going on. Chanyeol looks at him one last time before hopping over the railing, heading to face off against Suho's men.

Although they may seem fairly weak, there's only one Chanyeol, and there's only so much he can handle before they find a way to capture him. He needs a plan, and fast. 

Just then, out of seemingly nowhere, Kyungsoo is by his side, helping to fight off the soldiers. 

At some point it becomes a two against two, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo facing off against a pair of very valiant fighters. (Someone wants a raise.) "That's some friend you got," Chanyeol huffs. "He was even kind enough to invite some guests here _just_ for me." Kyungsoo laughs even though he isn't quite amused himself. "I haven't seen him in many cycles. I didn't know he was on Suho's side."

Before either of the two can say anything else, one of the soldiers snatches up Kyungsoo's forearm and cuts it clean off. It shatters into hundreds of voxels, and Chanyeol can only sit and watch. Kyungsoo's body slumps backward onto the floor and the soldiers rush toward him, trying to claim the user as their next victim, when suddenly, the power goes out. 

Everyone - even the soldiers - stop their panicking and fighting to see none other than Junmyeon, the Creator, standing before them.

It is through this distraction that some of the programs are able to overpower the soldiers, gaining the upper hand. "Let's go," says Junmyeon as he picks up Kyungsoo's torso. "Get his legs." 

They haul Kyungsoo up and make their way to the elevator, moving as fast as they can. Unfortunately, right before the elevator door closes, a soldier manages to grab a hold of Junmyeon's disk. The door closes. The soldier puts a bomb on the door, and when it explodes, the elevator malfunctions, plunging Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and his father all the way to the bottom. 

Before the soldier can tuck the disk away and fight off the other rebellious civilians, he is stabbed, and his body turns into a million voxels, disk falling onto the floor. 

Jongdae, with his trademark menacing grin on his face, picks up the disk, and sits down at the bar, watching the rest of the scene unfold.


End file.
